


Someday!

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Ranma 1/2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-21
Updated: 2003-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1628984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ranma and Ryouga have a little chat in the bath. Yay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someday!

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Drea

 

 

Author's Notes: I apologize for the craptacular nature of this fic. This is partially because I suck at ficwriting, I rarely put my fics up anywhere and I'm not a prolific writer. It's also partially because I am a terrible procrastinator. Terrible. And also because this fandom isn't one I would write for (or at least, the characters aren't ones I'd write). The only fandom that I specified that was given to me for your request was one that.. I really decided I could NOT write, so I was lucky enough to have this option. ^^; This fic was hard, because.. this pairing is so terribly.. not me. ^^;; 

And it's not very slashy. I cower! 

Anyway. Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and I don't own it, or any of the characters! This fic takes place very early in the television series and is my attempt to explain a closer friendship between Ranma and Ryouga. The first part is blatantly borrowed from the initial scene in the series where Ranma finds out that Ryouga is a pig, because it helped me write the rest of the fic, and is fairly important. (Parentheses are internal thoughts, because.. because.) 

Finally, I hope you enjoy your fic, even if it does suck. :D Happy Holidays! 

\-- 

Someday! 

\-- 

The bathroom in the Tendo household was silent, except for the echoing of a water droplet. However, the look on girl-Ranma's face was almost audible in its shock and amazement. When Akane asked him to take her new pet for a bath - this was one thing he wasn't expecting. 

"... Ryouga? You're a... you're a p-p-p?" 

"I'll kill you!" Ryouga threw a wild punch at the girl's face. Ranma barely managed to block it with the bathroom's bucket, which broke into pieces. 

"Then, you did go to Jusenkyo?" She said, in an amazed voice. Ranma would never have guessed that Ryouga would have gone so far, to follow her. Especially not for bread! 

Ryouga, visibly shaking with anger, answered. "I had to chase after you. But China is huge! And I walked through all of it! Day after day... until..." He tried to regain some amount of composure, but it was just too difficult for the boy. "Some weird girl knocked me off the cliff and into the pond." 

"Then... my body-! And I was almost eaten by a panda! And it's all because you're a coward and you never showed up to fight me! Ranma! It's all your fault!" 

Ranma balked at being accused of such horrible things! (Me? How could I be the cause of everything! He's blowing this completely out of proportion!) "Wait a sec, Ryouga! You said it was some weird girl who knocked you into the water, and a panda tried to eat ya!" 

Indignant, Ryouga leaned forward and hissed, "So what?" 

"So where the hell do you get off blaming me, Ryouga?" Ranma asked, angrily. 

"What?" 

Ranma pointed accusingly, "You should be blamin' the panda, and the girl" - she stopped abruptly, as she realized what she was saying, and remembered something very important. "Panda... and a girl..." 

It was just then a panda walked in. In fact, it was Ranma's father, but seeing as he had fallen into one of the cursed springs - it was enough for Ryouga to add two and two together. As the panda excused himself - after all, he was interrupting, Ryouga said, in utter disbelief, "That... that was a panda..." Blinking, looking from the door to Ranma and back, his face changed from disbelief to fury. "And you're a girl." 

Ranma tried to look as cute as she could, given the circumstances. 

"That girl in China - IT WAS YOU!" His hands clenched on the edge of the bath, cracking the tile, and then he lunged toward the girl, managing to get a hold of her pigtail. 

"Wait! Wait!" Ranma made a desperate attack for the faucet, and managed to turn on the cold water. 

"Cold? That's no fair, Ranma!" These were the last words Ryouga managed to utter before being transformed back into a pig. 

"Let's cool down and talk about this later, Ryouga? Okay?" Ranma asked tentatively, seeing that the pig was in a rather bad mood. Ryouga bristled. 

\-- 

Ryouga was devastated. He had managed to survive being changed into a pig, and get back to Japan for this? Ranma hadn't even remembered his identity when he arrived at Furinkan High School, and he was actually the one responsible for Ryouga's horrible problem? 

He had to admit that being a pig wasn't completely horrible, at least not right now. Ryouga, now P-chan, hid himself under Akane's pillow, sulking. At least now, he had food, and warmth, and wasn't being treated as a potential food source. Except that he and Ranma were fighting. 

Ryouga was just so furious that he had been forgotten. How could Ranma have forgotten him? It made him think about their school days, before Ranma had gone off to China. 

He had always sort of respected Ranma for his fighting skills. He really was amazing to watch in the schoolyard, practicing. However, Ryouga just knew that Ranma had seen him with his umbrella. Back then, it hadn't been so heavy, but his journey had toughened him up. 

They had watched each other practice, and had spoken at length to one another about martial arts. It was a strong bond. They had never fought formally. 

When Ranma had stolen his bread, from the school cafeteria, Ryouga knew it was time to issue a challenge, to formally acknowledge their rivalry and their comparable skill. And so he had. Ranma had promised to come. He had promised to be there. But by the time Ryouga managed to get to the vacant lot, Ranma was gone. It was heartbreaking. 

It was also at that time that Ryouga made a vow to find Ranma. There was nothing else as important. Ranma went to China? Ryouga followed. 

And he ended up like this, now knowing that Ranma was to blame for it all. 

He wiggled his piglet body further under a pillow as he heard the door open. "P-chan!" Akane said brightly. "It's time for dinner~~!" 

She gently plucked him out from underneath the pillow and patted him on the head softly. "Don't you worry, we're not eating you! And just ignore that mean ole Ranma, okay? My cute little piggy." She cradled him in her arms as she left the room. 

Seeing Ranma was the last thing that Ryouga wanted to do. 

\-- 

The meal was uneventful. Ryouga hadn't squealed the wrong way at Ranma, and Ranma had managed to successfully ignore Ryouga. Still a girl, Ranma was dying to take a hot bath, and get out of that form. It wasn't one that she enjoyed spending any amount of time in, but Nabiki had been hogging the bathroom for part of the afternoon, and if it wasn't her, Soun was in there taking a bath. 

After thanking Kasumi for the food, Akane turned to Ranma. "Since you've been so civil tonight, would you mind taking P-chan for a bath? He seems to be cold lately. Hiding under pillows and things..." 

Ranma shuddered. She didn't want to face Ryouga again, but... "Fine, fine, Akane. I'll do it. Whatever." After all, Ranma had silently promised Ryouga not to divulge his secret. Though technically, that was before she had known that he was a pig and that he was out to kill her, but a promise is a promise. (Can't let Akane bathe you, ever. Pain in the ass.) 

P-chan squealed as Ranma got up, and plucked him from Akane's lap by his bandanna. "Sorry pig, but it's gotta be done." 

Waving, but now looking a bit concerned, Akane tried to comfort P-chan. "Don't worry, P-chan! It'll just be for a little while!" 

Ranma rolled her eyes as she started up the stairs. (Boy, isn't this going to be fun.) 

\-- 

There was a splash as Ranma tossed P-chan into the warm bathwater, and then a more controlled one as she hopped in herself. 

"At last!" Ranma said, finally back into his male form. "Being a girl sucks. Unless you can get something out of it." 

Ryouga's head emerged out of the bath. "Ranma!" He made to slap him, but the effort was half-hearted. "I have questions, Ranma." 

Ranma was pleased that Ryouga wasn't as angry as he was before. It was a nice change, a change that he appreciated. "Shoot." 

His fist clenching and unclenching, he looked Ranma in the eye. "How did you forget me? ... and more importantly, why didn't you wait for me? For our battle?" He looked disappointed, and a bit angry. 

"Hey!" Ranma's brow creased, looking a bit more tense. "It took me a minute, but I remembered! I mean, be honest! It was bread. How was I supposed to remember that, anyway? I mean, after all I've gone through in China, and coming back?" 

"I know it was bread, but it was important. It was then, anyway. Never mind, you wouldn't understand." Ryouga brought his fist down into the water, but there was little force behind it. "So, why did you leave?" 

"I waited days, Ryouga! Through wind, snow, sleet! I only left because my father made me, anyway. I woulda waited." 

"Waited?" The look on Ryouga's face softened somewhat, his fang peaking out over his frowning mouth. "What do you mean, you would have waited?" 

"I would've waited for ya, if I could've. The old man made me leave. He made me go. Didn't want to go to stupid China. Training my ass." Ranma idly stirred the water with a finger. "Dad would do anything to make my life miserable!" 

"Waited...?" Ryouga was quietly surprised. That Ranma Saotome would have waited for him. That Ranma thought he was a good enough opponent to wait for him! "You would have waited!" 

"Is it really that big of a surprise? Sheesh." 

"Well, you didn't remember the fight, Ranma." 

Ranma gave him a flat look."It's not like I haven't been through much, Ryouga, to remember a fight over bread. So, let's see. I got a fiancee that I don't want, a psycho girl who wants me, her brother who loves me when I'm a girl, a pig who wants to kill me, and, oh yeah, I turn into a girl when I touch cold water. No, not a lot happening there." 

Ryouga sat in silence, while Ranma mused aloud, bitterly. "Oh, hey, you know, I could actually use a friend about now. Maybe someone who knows how it feels to be cursed - literally. But hey. Where exactly am I gonna find someone like that?" 

Ryouga crossed his arms, frowning. "Ranma, back at school, did you like me at all?" 

Blinking, Ranma asked, "What do you mean, like you? You were a good guy, Ryouga. A good martial artist. Something I can always appreciate. I liked spending time with you. And about our fight? I would have waited. But you know something, Ryouga?" 

"What, Ranma?" 

"If our fight happened, Ryouga, maybe we couldn't be friends. Because then one of us would be the loser. And even now, even though you probably hate me, I wouldn't want that. I know you say that I wouldn't or couldn't understand why that fight was so important, but I know that we can't be rivals if one of us is the loser." 

Ranma pointed to himself with his thumb. "And Ryouga, I respect ya too much for that. Even if you do hate me." He grinned. 

Ryouga was in disbelief, but he grinned, his fang peeking out of his mouth. "Someday, Ranma. Someday!" 

"You bet." 

 


End file.
